Agree, it is not much. I was required to have two days with a captain. Left straightaway thereafter on a 950 trip from Palm Coast, FL to Annapolis. Got there successfully without incident but I attribute that to blind luck. Knowing what I know now, I would counsel any new, non-experienced owner to engage a training captain for at least 100 hours with a heavy emphasis on docking and other close quarters operation.
We loved the training time. Docking and close quarters were easy for us. All we'd learned from the lake really came through for us. The captains were amazed. Handling inlets well was an entirely new challenge, both going in and out. We were also use to fairly simple jumping in boat and going and docking and right back in the house on the lake. The processes of preparing to cruise and then end of day were so much more involved. Then engine room checks and all equipment and systems checks.
One aspect I'd strongly advise was rough water boating. Don't wait until you're caught out in it, have no experience, and don't know your or the boat's capabilities. Our training captains put us through the gauntlet one day in the Gulf of Mexico with waves from 6-8' and then 8-10' as we were required to take them from all directions. That was a rough six hours or so, but learned more that day than any other time. We were happy to finally head in and spend the next several days docked at a marina. But we were prepared for that time you're crossing the Gulf and it's smooth until suddenly it isn't and prepared for those days you cross from Key West to Isla Mujeres or Cancun and conditions worsen.
We also started pretty good at reading water and detecting shoaling, but we learned the complexities of the ICW and we learned the impact of wind, waves, current and all of natures wonders on your boat. We were on our own to listen, learn and do, but we always knew we weren't going to be allowed to mess up. We'd sit and plan the day's cruise and get advice in the process, then our job to do it.
We told our training captains to be tough on us and they sure were. They asked us a couple of times if they were pushing too hard or going too far and we always said they were doing it just right. We could have eventually learned on our own but it sure accelerates your learning to have good training. Although we're not really fisherpersons, they even taught us to catch our own dinner.
For anyone in South Florida, getting some of their training in the Bahamas is very helpful too. Then a final benefit. It gives you a quality contact, someone you can go back to with questions, someone to call on if you need a captain. Let's say you spread 100 hours over a two week cruise. It likely costs you $4,000 plus expenses. Expensive, but compared to all the other expenses you're incurring, it's a well spent relatively small amount.
